Some of the greatest style moments happen on the big screen. Maybe that's because we get to see clothes in their element: moving and living, instead of static on a page. But maybe, when the film is done right, it has more to do with style: how the man makes the clothes, instead of vise versa. For this, Hollywood has a legion of costume designers, people who—if they're talented—can remove the celebrity, leaving behind an iconic character.

Enter Michael Kaplan: the man behind the (much-needed) style revival of Will Smith in I Am Legend, who created the look for tank-top-wearing badass Tyler Durden in Fight Club, who revived flashy gangster style in Miami Vice, and made space gear look cool in Armageddon. This is the genius who captured the sweatshirt spirit of the '80s in Flashdance, fomented the palpable sexual tension between a slim suited Brad Pitt and sexy-as-hell Angelina Jolie in Mr. Mrs. Smith, and then brought us on the sartorial intergalactic adventure of 2009's Star Trek.

Kaplan, whose next task is outfitting Tom Cruise to save the world in December's Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, found some time to talk to GQ about nine of his must-have items, and his favorite male celebrity. (Spoiler Alert: It's not Brad Pitt.)